S-1937.1                   _______________________________________________

                                                     SENATE BILL 5920

                              _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senator Vognild

Read first time 02/25/93.  Referred to Committee on Labor & Commerce.

Changing limits for unemployment compensation deductions.

          AN ACT Relating to unemployment insurance deductions; amending RCW 50.04.310 and 50.20.130; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

        Sec. 1.  RCW 50.04.310 and 1984 c 134 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) An individual shall be deemed to be "unemployed" in any week during which the individual performs no services and with respect to which no remuneration is payable to the individual, or in any week of less than full time work, if the remuneration payable to the individual with respect to such week is less than one and ((one-third)) one-half times the individual's weekly benefit amount plus ((five)) fifteen dollars.  The commissioner shall prescribe regulations applicable to unemployed individuals making such distinctions in the procedures as to such types of unemployment as the commissioner deems necessary.

          (2) An individual shall be deemed not to be "unemployed" during any week which falls totally within a period during which the individual, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or individual employment contract, is employed full time in accordance with a definition of full time contained in the agreement or contract, and for which compensation for full time work is payable.  This subsection may not be applied retroactively to an individual who had no guarantee of work at the start of such period and subsequently is provided additional work by the employer.

        Sec. 2.  RCW 50.20.130 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 23 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

          If an eligible individual is available for work for less than a full week, he or she shall be paid his weekly benefit amount reduced by one-seventh of such amount for each day that he or she is unavailable for work:  PROVIDED, That if he or she is unavailable for work for three days or more of a week, he or she shall be considered unavailable for the entire week.

          Each eligible individual who is unemployed in any week shall be paid with respect to such week a benefit in an amount equal to his or her weekly benefit amount less ((seventy-five)) sixty percent of that part of the remuneration (if any) payable to him with respect to such week which is in excess of ((five)) fifteen dollars.  Such benefit, if not a multiple of one dollar, shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  This act applies to weeks of unemployment beginning after January 1, 1994.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this act.  The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state.

                                                           --- END ---